Rubio tries to muster conservative support for immigration bill

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday sought his fellow conservatives' support for a sweeping immigration bill by arguing that doing nothing is tantamount to "amnesty" for the 11 million people who are living in the United States illegally.

Trying to turn the tables on Republican opponents of the overhaul who say it would grant amnesty to law-breakers, Rubio said deportation of all the 11 million, which some conservatives favor, would never happen.

"We all wish we didn't have this problem, but we do and we have to fix it. Because leaving things the way they are, that's the real amnesty," Rubio said at a news conference.

Rubio spoke the day before the Senate Judiciary Committee starts to examine the immigration bill crafted by Rubio and seven other Republican and Democratic senators.

Rubio, a popular conservative already considered a contender for the 2016 presidential nomination, had been pushing for immigration reform even before the eight senators unveiled their legislation this week.

The Florida senator has been stressing the economic benefits of immigration reform and has been careful not to say the bill creates a special path to citizenship - a non-starter for many conservatives.

The bill requires tougher security at the southern border with Mexico before illegal immigrants are given a chance to apply for citizenship. It also establishes a new program to bring in unskilled foreign laborers and increases the number of work visas for high- and low-skilled workers.

Rubio also took his appeal for the bill to influential conservative Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show on Thursday.

Some Republican lawmakers "have stated pretty strong opposition" to the path to citizenship, Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, who is part of the bipartisan Senate group, told reporters after the news conference.

Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who has been a vocal opponent of the plan, warned on Thursday that the bill would hurt U.S. workers and increase federal deficits as millions of undocumented residents eventually gain citizenship and become eligible for government benefits.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is to start working intensively on the bill in May with a goal of making changes before June.

The measure has a chance of passing the Senate, where Democrats control 55 of the 100 seats. However, its prospects are far less rosy in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where members of Rubio's party have started to coalesce around the idea of granting the illegal immigrants legal status but not citizenship.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Sam Youngman; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rubio-tries-muster-conservative-support-immigration-bill-233902575.html

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OS X Code Reveals Apple's Plans For Super-Fast Wi-Fi

With the OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.4 beta release currently in the hands of developers, some of the more eagle-eyed nerds have noticed references to code which appear to confirm rumors about Apple's plans to roll out super-fast Wi-Fi to its Macs. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/X7SiYj6DC7I/os-x-code-reveals-apples-plans-for-super+fast-wi+fi

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With Firepad, Firebase Adds Real-Time Text Collaboration To Its App Platform

Y Combinator-backed Firebase is expanding the infrastructure that it offers to app developers with its first module ? Firepad, a Google Docs-style text editor that allows you to collaborate with others. To a consumer, that might not sound very exciting. After all, we've already got Google Docs. However, co-founder and CEO James Tamplin said that those kinds of capabilities are limited to big companies with "a ton of Google-quality engineers." With Firepad, however, developers can add text editing and document collaboration to their own apps without too much extra work.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/MB3RUlQWNR0/

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Britney Explains Annette Funicello Comment

Britney Spears was set up, y'all. The "Scream and Shout" singer was recently approached by a TMZ cameraman, who asked how she felt about the passing of Annette Funicello. Since Annette was a cast member on the original '50s Mickey Mouse Club, and Britney was part of the '90s revival, the gossip site was probably expecting to get a personal reaction. Instead, after the cameraman shouted his question, Spears smiled and said, "I think that's great!" Of course, the headline on TMZ's "exclusive" became "Britney Spears: Annette Funicello's Passing 'Is Great.'"

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/britney-spears-explains-annette-funicello-comment/1-a-532722?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Abritney-spears-explains-annette-funicello-comment-532722

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Acclaimed documentary maker Les Blank dies at 77

This image provided by Harrod Blank shows an undated image of his father Les Blank. Blank, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker who focused his camera on cultural corners ranging from blues music, to garlic lovers, to shoe-eating artists, died Sunday April 7, 2013 at age 77, his son said. Blank died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said. (AP Photo/Harrod Blank)

This image provided by Harrod Blank shows an undated image of his father Les Blank. Blank, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker who focused his camera on cultural corners ranging from blues music, to garlic lovers, to shoe-eating artists, died Sunday April 7, 2013 at age 77, his son said. Blank died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said. (AP Photo/Harrod Blank)

This image provided by Harrod Blank shows an undated image of his father Les Blank. Blank, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker who focused his camera on cultural corners ranging from blues music, to garlic lovers, to shoe-eating artists, died Sunday April 7, 2013 at age 77, his son said. Blank died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said. (AP Photo/Harrod Blank)

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) ? Les Blank, an acclaimed documentary maker who focused his camera on cultural corners ranging from blues music, to garlic lovers, to shoe-eating artists, died Sunday at age 77, his son said.

Blank died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. nearly a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer, Harrod Blank said.

Blank's 42 films earned him a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.

"I think he's a national treasure," filmmaker Taylor Hackford, president of the Directors Guild of America, told the New York Times. "Although his films are not well known at the moment, they'll take their place"

The Florida-born Blank's early documentaries focused on musicians, including 1965's "Dizzy Gillespie" and "The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins," a portrait of the Texas bluesman that won Blank his first wide renown.

He shifted to food with documentaries like 1980's "Garlic is as Good as 10 Mothers," and 2007's "All in This Tea."

Blank was known for following his curiosity anywhere. No topic was too strange ? or too ordinary. His 1987 film "Gap-Toothed Women" was a series of interviews on the subject spurred by an old high school crush.

"If he was interested in gap-toothed women, he's going to make a film about it. If he wants to make a film about garlic because he loves to eat garlic, he's going to do it," said Harrod Blank, who is also a filmmaker.

But the subject that led to Blank's most memorable work was fellow filmmaker Werner Herzog.

In 1979's "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe," Blank chronicled Herzog's attempt to dine on his boot, the result of a lost bet.

And "Burden of Dreams," Blank's 1982 behind-the-scenes view of Herzog's disastrous filming of "Fitzcarraldo" in the Peruvian jungle, became a classic chronicle of artistic obsession.

"If I abandon this project, I would be a man without dreams," Blank films Herzog saying in the film. "I don't want to live like that,"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-08-Obit-Les%20Blank/id-69eb5aa11c5746a8a38e91fbbf2a2736

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Link between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome may be exaggerated

Public release date: 8-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Toni Baker
tbaker@gru.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University

AUGUSTA, Ga. The relationship between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome may be exaggerated, likely because the women who actively seek care for the condition tend to be heavier than those identified through screening of the general population, researchers report.

PCOS affects about 10 percent of women and is characterized by excess male hormone, irregular ovulation and menstruation as well as increased risk of metabolic diseases often associated with being overweight.

The study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism looked at what have long been considered indicators of the disease, including obesity, high testosterone levels and excess body hair, in women actively seeking care for PCOS as well as those identified with PCOS through a general pre-employment health screening.

They found that the women with PCOS identified through the screening had about the same obesity rates as those who didn't have PCOS, said Dr. Ricardo Azziz, reproductive endocrinologist and PCOS expert at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. However, obesity rates in patients actively seeking treatment were about 2.5 times higher than in women identified with PCOS through the screening of the general population.

"The women actively seeking care had higher male hormones, more hair growth, more severe ovulation problems, which was not surprising because patients who have a more severe condition are more apt to seek medical care," said Azziz, the study's corresponding author. "What is surprising to us is that the rate of obesity in women with PCOS who we found in the general population is nowhere near as high as we expected from studying women with PCOS who did seek care."

"This finding indicates that while obesity is a major problem for everyone who has it, we should treat obesity as obesity and probably not try to link obesity as a sign of PCOS," Azziz said. He notes that obesity has been considered a hallmark of the condition since it was first described in 1932 and that the ongoing association likely is perpetuated by a bias resulting from patients who self-refer for care.

A more accurate picture of PCOS likely would emerge if studies of the condition also included patients identified through screening the general population, Azziz said. "A lot of patients believe PCOS leads to obesity and we really don't have strong data to support that. In fact, our evidence suggests that is not the case."

"We do know that the more fat you have, the more metabolic dysfunction you have, regardless of whether you have PCOS," Azziz said. Growing evidence also suggests that regardless of how much they have the fat in women with PCOS behaves differently.

Fat, a huge organ even in thin individuals and a literal hormone factory, is a major site where the body uses insulin to convert glucose consumed in food to energy. Azziz and his colleagues reported in another recent study in the journal Diabetes differences in the fat of women with PCOS, showing that several tiny RNA molecules, called microRNA, were overexpressed in the fat of those who also were insulin-resistant, resulting in decreased expression of GLUT4, a key protein that regulates fat's use of glucose for energy.

The new studies were done on 64 women being treated for PCOS and 688 women seeking pre-employment physicals at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Uche Ezeh, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Center for Androgen-Related Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is the study's first author. Dr. Bulent O. Yidiz, Department of Internal Medicine and the Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit, Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Turkey, is co-author.

###

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Helping Hand of Los Angeles, Inc.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 8-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Toni Baker
tbaker@gru.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University

AUGUSTA, Ga. The relationship between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome may be exaggerated, likely because the women who actively seek care for the condition tend to be heavier than those identified through screening of the general population, researchers report.

PCOS affects about 10 percent of women and is characterized by excess male hormone, irregular ovulation and menstruation as well as increased risk of metabolic diseases often associated with being overweight.

The study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism looked at what have long been considered indicators of the disease, including obesity, high testosterone levels and excess body hair, in women actively seeking care for PCOS as well as those identified with PCOS through a general pre-employment health screening.

They found that the women with PCOS identified through the screening had about the same obesity rates as those who didn't have PCOS, said Dr. Ricardo Azziz, reproductive endocrinologist and PCOS expert at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. However, obesity rates in patients actively seeking treatment were about 2.5 times higher than in women identified with PCOS through the screening of the general population.

"The women actively seeking care had higher male hormones, more hair growth, more severe ovulation problems, which was not surprising because patients who have a more severe condition are more apt to seek medical care," said Azziz, the study's corresponding author. "What is surprising to us is that the rate of obesity in women with PCOS who we found in the general population is nowhere near as high as we expected from studying women with PCOS who did seek care."

"This finding indicates that while obesity is a major problem for everyone who has it, we should treat obesity as obesity and probably not try to link obesity as a sign of PCOS," Azziz said. He notes that obesity has been considered a hallmark of the condition since it was first described in 1932 and that the ongoing association likely is perpetuated by a bias resulting from patients who self-refer for care.

A more accurate picture of PCOS likely would emerge if studies of the condition also included patients identified through screening the general population, Azziz said. "A lot of patients believe PCOS leads to obesity and we really don't have strong data to support that. In fact, our evidence suggests that is not the case."

"We do know that the more fat you have, the more metabolic dysfunction you have, regardless of whether you have PCOS," Azziz said. Growing evidence also suggests that regardless of how much they have the fat in women with PCOS behaves differently.

Fat, a huge organ even in thin individuals and a literal hormone factory, is a major site where the body uses insulin to convert glucose consumed in food to energy. Azziz and his colleagues reported in another recent study in the journal Diabetes differences in the fat of women with PCOS, showing that several tiny RNA molecules, called microRNA, were overexpressed in the fat of those who also were insulin-resistant, resulting in decreased expression of GLUT4, a key protein that regulates fat's use of glucose for energy.

The new studies were done on 64 women being treated for PCOS and 688 women seeking pre-employment physicals at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Uche Ezeh, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Center for Androgen-Related Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is the study's first author. Dr. Bulent O. Yidiz, Department of Internal Medicine and the Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit, Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Turkey, is co-author.

###

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Helping Hand of Los Angeles, Inc.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/mcog-lbo040813.php

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Series begins with brain health | Health and Fitness News ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://haminarahman258.blogspot.com/2013/04/series-begins-with-brain-health-health.html

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Hagel seeks change on conviction reversals

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is recommending that military commanders be largely stripped of their ability to reverse criminal convictions of service members, a move that comes in response to a congressional uproar over an Air Force officer's decision to overturn a guilty verdict in a sexual assault case, the Pentagon said Monday.

Hagel has asked his staff to draft legislation that would require that cases go through the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, and that senior officers no longer have the authority to set aside guilty findings, except in limited, minor offenses that ordinarily don't warrant a court martial. The commanders, however, would retain their ability to participate in plea bargains and to reduce sentences, but they would have to defend the lesser sentence in writing.

In a written statement Monday, Hagel said that, if enacted by Congress, the changes "would help ensure that our military justice system works fairly, ensures due process and is accountable. These changes would increase the confidence of service members and the public that the military justice system will do justice in every case."

The change requires congressional action, but lawmakers have already begun looking into the matter in response to a furor over a recent Air Force sexual assault case. Hagel said the new recommendations have the full support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service secretaries.

Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin, commander of the 3rd Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, overturned the conviction against Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, a former inspector general at Aviano Air Base in Italy. Wilkerson had been found guilty last Nov. 2 of charges of abusive sexual contact, aggravated sexual assault and three instances of conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. The incident had involved a civilian employee.

Wilkerson was sentenced to a year in prison and dismissal from the service, but after a review of the case Franklin overturned the conviction. His decision triggered outrage among senators and calls for a new look at the military justice system.

"This decision has turned the military on its ear," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., during a hearing last month. She added that Franklin's decision sets the Air Force "all the way back to Tailhook." The 1991 Tailhook scandal rocked the military as Navy pilots were accused of sexually abusing female officers at a Las Vegas convention.

Hagel ordered a review of the issue, but he does not have the sole authority to either change the law or the reverse Franklin's ruling.

On Monday, senior defense officials explained the change, saying that once their review of the matter began it became quickly evident that no one was pushing back against the change. They said that the authority to set aside convictions was more suitable years ago, but the military justice system now has additional checks and balances to assure fairness.

The officials who were involved in the review spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change publicly.

Senators heralded Hagel's move, with McCaskill calling it a "big win for survivors of sexual assault" in the military. And the House Armed Services Committee promised to give the change serious consideration.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who heads the personnel panel on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she and several colleagues are drafting a bill to address the problem and strengthen accountability in the military justice system.

Anu Bhagwati, executive director of Service Women's Action Network, said that she commended the change to the post-trial decision-making. She added, however, that similar attention must be placed on the authorities of commanders during pre-trial decisions affecting the investigation and prosecution of offenses so that the judicial process more closely mirrors the civilian system.

At the same time, Hagel acknowledged that the Pentagon is still struggling to address the problem of sexual assault in the military. He said he's reviewing other ways to strengthen the department's prevention and response efforts.

Air Force officials have argued that overturning the results of a military court martial and granting clemency is rare ? amounting to roughly 1 1/2 percent of the caseload. In the past five years, senior commanders have overturned 40 guilty verdicts out of the 3,713 courts martial that were tried. Of those, the Air Force said that 327 involved sexual assaults and just five of those convictions were reversed.

Defense officials said that the other military services have reported similar percentages, but their exact numbers were not available.

Under the current law, if an accused service member is found guilty and sentenced, the findings are not final until they are approved or disproved by the convening authority. The convicted service member can request clemency and the general officer ? usually a major general or lieutenant general ? seeks legal advice, reviews the trial record and considers information submitted by the accused.

___

Follow Lolita C. Baldor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lbaldor

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-08-US-Military-Sexual-Assault-Case/id-bbdf2d751bc340baaa860e7e86ca6389

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IKEA halts moose lasagna sales after finding traces of pork

The Associated Press ? ? ? 5 hrs.

IKEA says it has withdrawn 17,000 portions of moose lasagna from its home furnishings stores in Europe after traces of pork were found in a batch tested in Belgium.

IKEA spokeswoman Tina Kardum said the product had only been on sale for a month when it was pulled off the shelves on March 22.

The company didn't announce the withdrawal publicly until Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet wrote about it Saturday.

Kardum said the company found out Friday that a follow-up test in Belgium confirmed the lasagna contained 1.6 percent pork.

"We have more information now. That's why we choose to inform now," Kardum said.

Moose meat is common in Sweden though it's not typically used in lasagna.

IKEA has previously recalled meatballs and other meat products sold in its cafeterias and frozen foods sections after tests showed they contained traces of horse meat.

The Swedish furniture giant is one of many European companies caught up in a scandal over mislabeled meat in frozen food products.

IKEA's withdrawn products came from a Swedish frozen foods maker, which in turn blamed the mislabeling on its meat suppliers.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a709d88/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cikea0Ehalts0Emoose0Elasagna0Esales0Eafter0Efinding0Etraces0Epork0E1C92550A43/story01.htm

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Schoolboy finds 300 million year old fossil

Apr. 7, 2013 ? An Oxford schoolboy has discovered what appears to be an extremely rare fossil of footprints from more than 300 million years ago.

Ten-year-old Bruno Debattista, who attends Windmill Primary School in Oxford, brought a piece of shale rock containing what he thought might be a fossilised imprint to the after-school club at Oxford University's Museum of Natural History.

Oxford University Natural History Museum experts were astonished to find that it appeared to contain the trackways left by a horseshoe crab crawling up the muddy slopes of an ancient shore around 320 million years ago.

Chris Jarvis, education officer at the Museum and organiser of the Natural History After-School Club, said: 'Footprints of this age are incredibly rare and extremely hard to spot, so we were amazed when Bruno produced them at our After-School Club.

'Still more impressive is the fact that Bruno had a hunch they might be some kind of footprints, even though the specimen had some of our world expert geologists arguing about it over their microscopes!''

Bruno's fossil has been confirmed by the Museum as likely showing footprints of a pair of mating horseshoe crabs laid down during the Carboniferous period, some 308-327 million years ago. At this time, the sea was slowly being sealed off as Earth's landmasses crunched together to form Pangaea. Bruno and his family have decided to donate the fossil specimen to the Museum's collection.

The Natural History After-School Club is run by the Museum's education department and encourages Year 6 children to develop their interest in the natural world, in the hope that some might become the next generation of geologists and zoologists.

The club's weekly sessions look at rocks, fossils, insects and other animal life, and members are encouraged to make observations and collect specimens to be shared each week.

Bruno was specially selected for the Club by his teachers, after showing a particular interest in nature. He collected the fossil while on holiday in Cornwall last summer.

'Unfortunately, the excitement and motivation that many children instinctively feel for studying nature is often lost during their teenage years as it is seen as "uncool" or a bit "weird," and science can become text-book oriented and exam-driven during secondary school,' Chris Jarvis said.

'The club is our attempt to encourage children to value and extend their skills and knowledge and to follow their interests. I hope it is helping to create a group of kids that will continue to share their interests into their teenage years and beyond.'

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/C0Cd95-RIOw/130407145835.htm

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Some One Else's Bathwater

Our Intention Statement November 2011, an exciting time for both Susan and I with the revamping of the Sounds from Source website, and our decision to offer many of the amazing Sounds from Source programs as online or home study options. This hasn?t come about easily by the way, we have had innumerable ?kicks in? [Continue Reading]

Source: http://www.soundsfromsource.com/some-one-elses-bathwater/

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Obama budget takes heat from all quarters

Republicans reject any new taxes. Liberals say they'll fight any changes to Social Security and other entitlement programs. Does the Obama administration have any room to maneuver?

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / April 7, 2013

President Barack Obama, and White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer react to a reporter's question as they leave the Treasury Department in January. Pfeiffer warned Republicans Sunday that a "my way or the highway" approach would spell the GOP's defeat in upcoming budget negotiations, and he told Democratic allies that they, too, will have to bend on Obama's delayed spending plan set to be released this week.

Charles Dharapak/AP

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Does President Obama?s budget have a snowball?s chance in Hades?

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He?ll submit his administration?s budget for the fiscal year beginning in October on Wednesday, and based on leaked details it?s getting largely negative reviews.

House Speaker John Boehner has rejected it because it includes new revenues, meaning some new taxes on the wealthy. Obama?s liberal base promises to block any cuts in entitlements ? in particular, a revised inflation adjustment for Social Security known as "chained CPI."?

"There are nuggets of his budget that I think are optimistic." Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday ? the only praise, however lukewarm, heard from a Republican.

"The president is showing a little bit of leg here, this is somewhat encouraging," said Sen. Graham. "He has sort of made a step forward in the entitlement-reform process."

"He showed some leadership," Graham added. "That puts the burden on us."

Which is exactly what Obama?s liberal base fears, a fact all too clear to the White House, which sought to clarify its position Sunday.

"This chained CPI that?s being referred to here, it is something the president will only accept on two conditions," senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer?said on ABC?s ?This Week.? "One, it?s part of a balanced package that includes closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest, and two, that it has protections for the most vulnerable, including the oldest seniors."

On Wednesday ? the day he officially unveils his budget for FY 2014 ? Obama will dine with a dozen Republican senators.

"The president's focus, in addition to the regular order process that members of Congress say they want, is to try to find a caucus of common sense, folks who are willing to compromise, that don't think compromise is a dirty word, and try to get something done," White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday on "This Week.?

But Obama might want to schedule a meal with liberal lawmakers and pundits as well.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3sGxt_6XldM/Obama-budget-takes-heat-from-all-quarters

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Gang member arrested in Colo. corrections killing

DENVER (AP) ? One of two members of a white supremacist gang linked to the killing of Colorado's prisons chief has been arrested just miles away from where the state official was shot to death answering the door to his home.

James Lohr was taken into custody early Friday, said El Paso County sheriff's spokesman Jeff Kramer. Lohr was wanted for questioning in the killing of Colorado Corrections Director Tom Clements. It's unclear if Lohr has been charged.

Authorities believe Lohr was in contact with gang associate Evan Ebel days before the slayings of Clements and pizza delivery man Nate Leon. Police said they believe Ebel killed Leon and Clements before he was killed in a shootout in Texas. The motive in the killings isn't clear.

Clements was shot to death on March 19 in Monument, just north of Colorado Springs. Leon was killed two days earlier. His body was found in the Denver suburb of Golden.

KRDO-TV (http://tinyurl.com/d8bj8vt ) reported that Lohr was arrested by Colorado Springs police after a short foot chase that started when police tried to stop a car.

Authorities issued an alert Wednesday asking other law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for Lohr and Thomas Guolee, who were identified as two known associates of the same gang linked to Ebel.

Lohr, 47, and Guolee, 31, have not been called suspects in Clement's death, but their names surfaced during the investigation, Kramer said. He wouldn't elaborate. Both were wanted on warrants unrelated to the Clements investigation.

Lohr and Guolee are known associates of the 211 Crew, the same gang that has been linked to Ebel, Kramer said.

Kramer said earlier it's possible one or both of them could be headed to Nevada or Texas.

On Thursday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced a sweeping review of the state's prison and parole operations as more evidence piled up showing how Ebel slipped through the cracks in the criminal justice system to become a suspect in the killing of the state's prisons chief.

Ebel was released from prison four years early due to a clerical error and violated his parole terms five days Clements was killed.

Officials said the state will now audit inmates' legal cases to ensure they are serving the correct amount of time. They also will ask the National Institute of Corrections to review the state's parole system, which is struggling under large caseloads.

Ebel was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities after the Colorado deaths. Investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was also used to kill Clements when the prisons chief answered the front door of his home.

Ebel is the only suspect that investigators have named in Clements' death. They have said they're looking into his connection to the gang he joined while in prison, and whether that was connected to the attack.

"Investigators are looking at a lot of different possibilities. We are not stepping out and saying it's a hit or it's not a hit. We're looking at all possible motives," Kramer said Wednesday.

Guolee is a parolee who served time for intimidating a witness and giving a pawnbroker false information, among other charges, court records show. Lohr was being sought on warrants out of Las Animas County for a bail violation and a violation of a protection order, according to court records.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gang-member-arrested-colo-corrections-killing-131444025.html

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Gillmor Gang Live 04.05.13 (TCTV) | TechCrunch

Steve Gillmor is a technology commentator, editor, and producer in the enterprise technology space. He is Head of Technical Media Strategy at salesforce.com and a TechCrunch contributing editor. Gillmor previously worked with leading musical artists including Paul Butterfield, David Sanborn, and members of The Band after an early career as a record producer and filmmaker with Columbia Records? Firesign Theatre. As personal computers emerged in video and music production tools, Gillmor started contributing to various publications, most notably Byte Magazine,...

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/05/gillmor-gang-live-04-05-13-tctv/

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Another preview of the 1080p video playing on the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152694333905371&set=a.147680360370.232804.127409140370&type=1

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Gangs Rat Selves Out With Tweets of Blammers, Biscuits and Shellz

Three rival gangs, some of New York City's most violent, have been taken down and authorities were able to do it in large part because of social media.

"The internet is our 21st century crime scene," said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. "There isn't a crime that happens, here in Manhattan or elsewhere, that doesn't leave some electronic fingerprint."

Several dozen alleged members of the Air It Out, True Money and Whoadey gangs have been accused of carrying out a "campaign of violence dating back to at least 2009," Vance said.

The gangs have been tied to three murders, nearly three dozen shootings and gun trafficking.

"Today's indictments chronicle a bloody gang war that claimed the lives of at least three teenagers, led to the shooting of dozens of individuals and put bounties on people's heads," the DA said.

The cops also grabbed 25 guns, officials said.

In the old days police needed wiretaps or an informant, a "rat," to bring down a criminal gang. Today the players are ratting out themselves.

"Social media remains a double-edged sword in our crime fighting strategies," New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "It is used by crew members to brag about past crimes, taunt rivals and incite violence. On the other hand we use social media to document past crimes and intercept new ones being talked about openly by crew members on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube."

Court records quoted one gang member on Facebook bragging, "I'm 2 Glocks strapped rolling down 112 Madison 116th this is the New Iraq." Said another on Twitter: "It start goin' off like its 4th of July."

"This is how people are communicating," Vance said. "It's no different whether it's talking about getting together on Saturday night or getting together on Saturday night to shoot somebody."

Prosecutors released a two-page glossary of terms the alleged gang members used on their social media accounts that police decoded. Biscuit, blammer or clickety are all slang for a gun. Food, electricity or sea shellz refer to ammunition.

Between October 2009 and March 2013, court records say two gangs ? True Money and Whoadey ? allied together against a third, Air it Out, for the purposes of protecting their territory and avenging shootings and murders committed by one group against another. The 63 defendants in all three gangs are charged with attempting to kill one another, buy and sell guns and use violence to protect their turf.

The alleged gang members used hundreds of Facebook and Twitter posts and direct messages, text messages, cell phone videos, and calls made from Rikers Correctional Facility to plot the deaths of rival gang members. Gang members also used social media and prison phone calls to traffic firearms and ammunition, and to warn each other of potential law enforcement action.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gangs-rat-selves-tweets-blammers-biscuits-shellz-220604104--abc-news-topstories.html

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Ancient site unearthed in Iraqi home of Abraham

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A British archaeologist says he and his colleagues have unearthed a huge, rare complex near the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq, home of the biblical Abraham.

Stuart Campbell of Manchester University's Archaeology Department says it goes back about 4,000 years, around the time Abraham would have lived there. It's believed to be an administrative center for Ur.

Campbell said Thursday it's roughly the size of a football pitch ? about 80 meters on each side. He says complexes of this size and age are rare.

He says one of the finds is a plaque of a worshipper wearing a flowing robe and approaching a sacred site.

It's the first British archaeological dig in southern Iraq since the 80s. It's possible because parts of Iraq are now relatively stable.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ancient-unearthed-iraqi-home-abraham-133308421.html

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For ailing Valerie Harper, love's still all around

FILE - This undated handout publicity photo shows, from left, Betty White, Valerie Harper, Ed Asner, Mary Tyler Moore, Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman and Georgia Engel, the original cast of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show." White reunites with her former co-stars, Mary Tyler Moore, Cloris Leachman, Georgia Engel and Valerie Harper for an upcoming episode of "Hot in Cleveland." (AP Photo, File)

FILE - This undated handout publicity photo shows, from left, Betty White, Valerie Harper, Ed Asner, Mary Tyler Moore, Gavin MacLeod, Cloris Leachman and Georgia Engel, the original cast of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show." White reunites with her former co-stars, Mary Tyler Moore, Cloris Leachman, Georgia Engel and Valerie Harper for an upcoming episode of "Hot in Cleveland." (AP Photo, File)

This undated publicity photo released by courtesy of TV Land shows, from left, Wendie Malick, Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli and Jane Leeves from TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland." White reunites with her former co-stars, Mary Tyler Moore, Cloris Leachman, Georgia Engel and Valerie Harper for an upcoming "Cleveland" episode. (AP Photo/TV Land)

In this April 4, 2013 publicity photo released by courtesy of TV Land shows, from left, actresses Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White and Georgia Engel, former co-stars of the '70s TV classic "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," posing after a press conference discussing their reunion for an upcoming episode of sitcom "Hot in Cleveland," in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Courtesy TV Land, Danny Feld)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? It turns out "The Last Show" wasn't the last, after all.

Just around the corner from the intersection of Mary Tyler Moore Avenue and Newhart Street at CBS Studio Center, actress Mary Tyler Moore and some of her former colleagues gathered Thursday afternoon for a press conference to discuss their first sitcom appearance together since "The Last Show," the title of the 1977 series finale of the groundbreaking "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Moore, Cloris Leachman, Betty White, Georgia Engel and the ailing Valerie Harper reunited this week to tape an episode of White's hit TV Land comedy, "Hot in Cleveland."

On "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Harper played the free-spirited best friend Rhoda Morgenstern opposite Moore's prim Mary Richards.

Harper, 73, wondered if the group had come together again because of her recent diagnosis with terminal brain cancer.

"Do you guys think this was part of my condition?" asked Harper.

"Oh, yes. I do," replied co-star Leachman, who portrayed Mary and Rhoda's snooty apartment-building manager, Phyllis Lindstrom. "They had the idea and they wrote this amazing script," Leachman continued. "We're just almost in tears, we're so thrilled."

Harper recently told the "Today" show that in January she was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer and told she had three months to live. But, on this day, Harper was robust. "I'm kind of symptomless for this particular condition, so we're just going to see," she explained.

Harper said this reunion has been more about laughter than tears, in spite of her diagnosis. "And the tears come up, but they're part of the laughter," she noted. "Did you ever laugh 'til you cry?"

This group has reunited before, in 2007 to present at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and for a 2008 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." But this is the ensemble's first acting job together in some 36 years. Coincidentally, it's taking place on the same studio lot their Emmy-winning series was filmed between 1970 and 1977.

The actresses won't be playing their "Mary Tyler Moore Show" characters on the "Hot in Cleveland" episode, which is scheduled to air Sept. 4. The storyline has Elka (White) and Mamie Sue (frequent guest star Engel) reuniting with their long-lost bowling teammates: Diane (Moore), Peg (Leachman) and Angie (Harper). While the characters names are different, each will provide a nod to the roles the actresses played on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

"(Rhoda) taught me to thank your lucky stars for a fabulous friend," Harper noted, referring to Mary Richards and pointing to Moore and laughing.

Both the first "Mary Tyler Moore Show" and the new "Hot in Cleveland" episodes are titled "Love is All Around," and that seemed to be the case at this press conference.

"We don't have to fake it," Moore said.

____

Follow Michael Cidoni Lennox at http://twitter.com/MikeCLennox

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-05-TV-Harper-Moore/id-81902bb6c0974b4f94c88c5a9836d53b

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Obama: Colorado is 'a model of what's possible'

By Jeff Mason

DENVER (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to rally public support for proposed background checks for all gun buyers, touting new gun control measures enacted in Colorado - the scene of two of the deadliest gun massacres in American history - as "a model of what's possible."

Obama is aiming to revive stalled momentum in Congress for several gun control measures, including universal background checks for gun buyers, that he called for after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut school in December. The Senate is set to take up gun control next week.

Speaking in a Western state that Obama noted has a strong tradition of gun ownership and hunting, the president said that taking action to reduce gun violence does not have to infringe on Americans' gun rights, enshrined in the Constitution's Second Amendment.

"There doesn't have to be a conflict between protecting our citizens and protecting our Second Amendment rights," Obama told a cheering crowd in Denver.

Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper last month signed into law legislation passed by Colorado legislators to require universal background checks for gun buyers and ban ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds.

"I've come to Denver today in particular because Colorado is proving a model of what's possible," Obama said, adding that the state has shown that "practical progress" can be made.

Obama met privately with law enforcement and elected officials as well as relatives of victims of two Colorado mass shootings: at a movie theater last year in the Denver suburb of Aurora and at Columbine High School in 1999.

Obama devoted most of his speech at the Denver Police Academy to trying to build the case for expanding the existing background checks to cover all gun buyers. Loopholes in the law have exempted many gun buyers from such checks.

"Now understand, nobody is talking about creating an entirely new system. We are simply talking about plugging holes, sealing a porous system that isn't working as well as it should," Obama said.

"If you want to buy a gun, whether it's from a licensed dealer or a private seller, you should at least have to pass a background check to show you're not a criminal or someone legally prohibited from buying one. And that's just common sense," Obama added.

No major gun legislation has passed the U.S. Congress since 1994, but Obama has made gun control one of his top legislative priorities. Opinion polls show strong support for background checks and other gun control proposals, but gun rights advocates led by the National Rifle Association have lobbied fiercely against any new measures.

'THEATERS OF WAR'

In Denver, Obama mentioned some of his other gun control proposals - reinstating the ban on assault weapons and cracking down on high-capacity ammunition clips - that already appear to have little chance of passing the Democratic-led Senate, let alone the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

"I don't believe that weapons designed for theaters of war have a place in movie theaters. Most Americans agree with that," Obama said.

Obama urged Americans to call their senators and House members to ask where they stand and demand votes on his proposals. "There are already some senators back in Washington floating the idea that they might use obscure procedural stunts to prevent or delay any of these votes on reform," Obama said.

Obama drew applause when he pressed for the assault weapon ban despite its bleak prospects in the Senate. At least 15 of the 55-member Senate Democratic caucus are expected to join all the chamber's 45 Republicans to reject the measure.

Even a bipartisan measure to crack down on gun trafficking may be in trouble, according to congressional aides, because of a possible change being pushed by the NRA to weaken it.

The only provision that appears to have strong bipartisan support is a relatively minor one that would provide schools $40 million a year for 10 years to bolster security. This drew Republican backing only after Democrats slashed the proposed price by more than a half.

Obama met with two representatives of hunters' groups in Colorado. The president said he has received "stacks of letters" from gun owners who want gun violence stopped. Obama urged Americans on both sides of the gun debate to listen to each other and try to be more empathetic.

Obama plans to visit Connecticut next week to continue his push for action on reducing gun violence. Connecticut legislators were expected to vote on Wednesday on proposals to expand a state ban on assault weapons and require registration of high-capacity clips.

(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-law-shows-u-whats-possible-gun-control-201340568.html

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Pork chops are now ribeyes as U.S. meat industry renames cuts

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO (Reuters) - BBQ fans, brace yourselves: "Pork butt" will soon be a thing of the past.

In an effort to boost sales just ahead of the U.S. grilling season, and make shopping at the meat counter a bit easier, the pork and beef industries are retooling more than 350 names of meat cuts to give them more sizzle and consumer appeal.

The revised nomenclature emerged after two years of consumer research, which found that the labels on packages of fresh cuts of pork and beef are confusing to shoppers, said Patrick Fleming, director of retail marketing for trade group National Pork Board.

A stroll down the meat aisle had become baffling for shoppers looking for a steak. When they would see packages of "butler steak" or "beef shoulder top blade steak, boneless, flat iron" - they would walk away with an empty cart, said Trevor Amen, director of market intelligence for the Beef Checkoff Program.

So recently, the National Pork Board and the Beef Checkoff Program, with the blessing of officials with USDA, got the nod to update the Uniform Retail Meat Identification Standards, or URMIS. Though the URMIS system is voluntary, a majority of U.S. food retailers use it.

So pork and beef industry officials say they hope the new names will show up in stores nationwide by this summer's grilling season.

If it does, the lowly "pork chop" will be gone. Instead, grocery retailers could be stocking stacks of "porterhouse chops," "ribeye chops" and "New York chops." The pork butt - which actually comes from shoulder meat - will be called a Boston roast.

"One of our biggest challenges has been the general belief among consumers that a pork chop is a pork chop," said Fleming. "But not all pork chops are equal, and not all pork chops are priced equally."

So much for pork being known as the other white meat--a label the pork industry used for years to lure consumers away from chicken.

In the beef aisle, a boneless shoulder top blade steak will become a flatiron steak, a beef under blade boneless steak will become a Denver Steak. Not all names in the meat counter will change - ground beef will still be ground beef

The new retail names will also come with new labels for retail packages, which will tell consumers what part of the animal's body the cut comes from, as well as include suggested cooking instructions.

This marketing move comes at a challenging time for the nation's livestock sector, which has wrestled with historic high grain prices and devastating droughts.

Overseas demand for U.S. meat has cooled as both Russia and China have concerns about possible traces of the feed additive ractopamine, which is used to make meat leaner. That has protein clogging the nation's supply chain and the supply pork and beef in commercial freezers hit a record high for the month of February, according to Agriculture Department data.

Also domestic sales have been slow as the relatively cool spring has quashed consumer interest in breaking out the backyard grill.

While fresh beef and pork cuts have official names that are approved by USDA, compliance with using those naming conventions is voluntary for the industry, said Sam Jones-Ellard, spokesman for USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

"There won't be any changes to our naming conventions, but we're supportive of this," Jones-Ellard said. "Anything that simplifies the names of cuts of meat is a good thing for consumers."

At least one section of the meat department will stay the same: A spokesman for the National Chicken Council said Wednesday that no such plans are in place to change the names of chicken cuts. A chicken breast, the official said, will remain a breast.

(Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pork-chops-now-ribeyes-u-meat-industry-renames-200036934.html

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Mozilla Moves Ahead With Its Plans For A Common Web API For Payments

Mozilla is working with payment vendors and the W3C standards body to create a common API to make online payments, both on desktop and mobile, easier and more secure. To get this process going, Mozilla has implemented a new and experimental JavaScript API into its new Firefox OS for smartphones that will eventually allow web apps to accept payments. Mozilla argues that having a common API for handling payments that can be integrated with multiple payment vendors will open up new business models for developers and publishers. This new API, navigator.mozPay(), Mozilla says, was inspired by Google’s Wallet for Digital Goods API and will ship in Firefox OS first and then be added to Firefox for Android and desktop Firefox later. While it’s currently a very experimental API (and still incomplete), Mozilla expects that it will be usable enough to “process live payments on the first Firefox OS phones and evolve quickly from real-world usage.” The question to ask here, of course, is why bother, given that online payments don’t seem to be a major issue for users and developers, thanks to services like PayPal and Stripe. Mozilla, however, argues that users should have more choice when it comes to how they want to pay for goods online (be they virtual or physical). Users, the organization also notes, still have to type in their credit card numbers, which “is like giving someone the keys to your expensive car, letting them drive it around the block in a potentially dangerous neighborhood (the web) and saying please don?t get carjacked!” With navigator.mozPay(), developers will be able to grant permission to each payment provider they want to work with and use a very straightforward process for handling these payments that’s more about exchanging tokens than exchanging credit card information. You can find more details about how to implement and test the current version of this API here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/B-Aoh4h0Dnw/

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Film Threat - Going Bionic: Distributing Independent Films ...

Welcome to ?Going Bionic,? #151. I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend, whether you celebrated Easter, Passover, both or neither. As for me, my weekend was quite eventful, as I spent Saturday afternoon at WonderCon in Anaheim, and then spent Sunday taking my wife and daughters to Easter Brunch, where we enjoyed an Easter egg hunt, a pony ride and a picture with the Easter Bunny. Thus, my weekend was filled with meeting good people in great costumes!

As promised last week, today we?re exploring ?Michelangelo Screenwriting,? a writing intensive summer excursion that takes place in Orvieto, Italy. As an added bonus, we?re also taking a peek behind the mask of WonderCon ? Anaheim.? So, without further adieu, Let?s start our journey in Orvieto, Italy.

Michelangelo Screenwriting (www.Michelangeloscreenwriting.com).
The Michelangelo Screenwriting program is a two-week, or one-week intensive writing workshop that takes place in the serene backdrop of Orvieto, Italy, a town that?s nestled on top of a breathtaking butte of volcanic rock. The program is designed to encourage writers to write; while it also creates a non-threatening support group of other writers to help your words flow as easily as the warm Italian summer breeze.

Should you worry that joining strange writers in the middle of Italy for two weeks during the summer will turn into a vacation rather than it a writing excursion, don?t, because: a) All writers are strange, including you and b) There are writing instructors to guide you along the way. Furthermore, the instructors hold daily writing seminars for part of your time abroad, while other days and times you?re left alone to write.

What I Love About It
As someone who loves to write, I know how important it is to be in an environment that encourages creativity. Luckily for me, I travel internationally to film festivals an film markets, so I?m always in places that get my creative juices flowing, (i.e. Cannes, Tokyo and Hong Kong). However, if you?re not racking up 85,000-110,000 frequent flier miles per year like I am, then the Michelangelo Screenwriting Program may be just what you need to get your script where it needs to be to sell.

Act One
The first session takes place from June 16-June 30, 2013, and still has a few slots open.

Act Two
The second session, a one-week intensive on writing for television, (June 30-July 6, 2013), is already sold-out.

Act Three
You win the Oscar for best original or best-adapted screenplay in 2015, and you thank Michelangelo Screenwriting for helping you craft your script into a career-changing slam-dunk. Hell, if you do win an Oscar utilizing what you learned from the Michelangelo Screenwriting Program, then don?t forget to mention you heard about it first, right here at ?Going Bionic.?

Should you contact Michelangelo Screenwriting, feel free to ask for Heidi Hornbacker-Cavagna, who is an old friend of mine. While Heidi won?t give you a discount for dropping my name (she may charge you more?) she might tell you the story of how my car was towed while she and I were at lunch a few months ago.

The other event we?re discussing today is WonderCon Anaheim, which was simply amazing.

My good friend, Martin Shapiro, the creator of the ?Chopper? comic book series, invited me to WonderCon, because he was on a panel Saturday afternoon about turning graphic novels into feature films. I?m glad I took Martin up on the offer, because the experience was quite memorable.

Location, Location, Location
Located at the Anaheim Convention Center, just steps away from the far more sanitized Disneyland, WonderCon was way more crowded than I had expected. ?Thousands of attendees packed the aisles as hundreds of vendors sold and promoted their stuff at an alarming rate.

Crowded, But Not Suffocating
Since there were families with young children in attendance, and the feel of the event was more of a celebration of the comic book and graphic novel world, as opposed to the corporate environment that Comic-Con has morphed itself into over the past several years. Don?t get me wrong, there?s nothing wrong with a corporate environment, because it?s a sign that big money is being made. However, if you want a kinder, gentler, and somewhat more creatively inspired experience, WonderCon is perfect for you.

WonderCon VS. Comic-Con
Unlike Comic-Con, which I also love, WonderCon allowed you to maneuver around a tad bit easier. However, just like Comic-Con, WonderCon has turned into a platform for major studios to position and promote their comic-related feature films.? In fact, there was a huge display for the upcoming Tom Cruise film, ?Oblivion,? which is being released this month.

A Quick Plug For ?The Brass Teapot?
During my aimless stroll around WonderCon, I ran into a stand promoting the current Magnolia Pictures release, ?The Brass Teapot,? a story about a couple that finds a brass teapot that gives them money every time they physically injure themselves. The couple is in need of a lot of money, so the film explores how far people will go for money. While I haven?t seen ?The Brass Teapot,? the film?s director Ramaa Mosely was nice to me when I stopped by her booth, so I thought I?d mention her film.

Okay, filmmakers. That?s what I?ve got for you today. As always, I thank you for lending me your eyes, and I look forward to borrowing them again next Tuesday! I can be followed on Twitter @Lonelyseal.

Posted on April 2, 2013 in Features, Going Bionic by Hammad Zaidi

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